Molding strip

ABSTRACT

A molding strip suitable as a decorative strip or member provided with a back piece characterized by having notches along at least a portion of the back. The molding strip is useful on outside and inside corners and on other arcuate surfaces.

mted States Patent [151 3,635,787 Shanok et al. [4 1 Jan. 18, 1972 [54] MOLDING STRIP [56] References Cited [72] Inventors: Victor Shanok; Jesse P. Shanok, both of UNITED STATES PATENTS Bmklyn 2,896,682 7/1959 Elmendorf 161/123 [73] Assignee: Glass Laboratories Company, Brooklyn, 2,958,325 11/1960 Claydon et a1.. .....l61/l23 N.Y. 3,069,746 12/1962 Scharf... ..l61/6 303,356 8/1884 Beck ..l6l/l23 [221 1967 3,419,458 12/1968 Brooks et al 161/121 [2]] Appl. No.: 681,144

Primary Examiner--Douglas J. Drummond 52 us. 01 ..l61/121,161/123, 161/214,

156/21 1 57 BSTRACT [51] Int. Cl. ..B32b 3/00, B3212 15/08 1 A [58] Field of Search ..161/43, 121, 123, 5, 6, 214; A molding strip suitable as a decorative strip or member pro- 156/21 1, 212 vided with a back piece characterized by having notches along at least a portion of the back. The molding strip is useful on outside and inside corners and on other arcuate surfaces.

8 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTED JAN 1 8mm SHEEI 1 BF 2 FIG] MOLDING srmr BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION I. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a molding strip. More particularly, this invention relates to a molding strip adaptable to be bent around or into corners or to be applied to another arcuately shaped surface.

2. Discussion of the Prior Art 7 The prior art is replete with disclosures of molding strips. Generally, these strips are straight pieces having a curved front face and a flat back piece. The molding strips are generally rigid and are applied to a surface either with the use of a finishing nail or the like, or adhesively. Unfortunately, due to the material of construction and due principally to the shape of these molding strips, it is impossible to bend them around an outside corner or into an inside corner so as to preserve the continuity of the molding strip at the comer. Hence, it became desirable to provide a molding strip which could be bent over an arcuate surface to preserve the continuity of the decorative effect of the molding strip over the curved area. Naturally, such a molding strip must not present a break or a line at the comer which is the problem with prior art molding strips which had to be cut at the comer and a new piece of molding strip begun on the next surface.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Objects of the Invention It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide a molding strip which can be applied to arcuate surfaces without necessitating cutting the strip and applying a second molding strip on the next surface.

It is another object of this invention, therefore, to provide a molding strip which can beapplied to arcuate surfaces especially comers without breaking the continuity of the decorative effect provided by the molding strip itself.

It is another object of this invention, therefore, to provide such a' molding strip which can be readily applied to surfaces and does not require any special tools or instruments for its application to arcuate surfaces.

These and other objects of this invention will become apparent from the following description, accompanying drawings and appended claims.

STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION Broadly, this invention contemplates a molding strip comprising a front portion and a back portion, said back portion being at least partially notched inwardly toward said front portion.

In a particularly desirable embodiment, this invention contemplates a molding strip comprising a front portion and a back portion, said back portion being at least partially notched inwardly toward said front portion, said notches extending across the width of said molding strip, the angle formed within each notch being about 90".

In still a more desirable embodiment, the invention contemplates a molding strip comprising a front portion and a yieldable back portion, said back portion being at least partially notched inwardly toward said front portion, said notches extending across the width of said molding strip, the angle fonned by the notches being about 90, said molding strip comprising a thermoplastic material, e.g., cellulose acetate butyrate coating a strip of metallic foil, e.g., aluminum foil, the origin of said angle having an arcuate shape to facilitate bending said molding strip.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The invention can be more readily understood and appreciated when reference is made to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. I is a perspective view of a molding strip pursuant to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a metallic foil-coated molding strip pursuant to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation showing the molding strip of FIG. 2 applied to an outside corner.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation showing the molding strip of FIG. 2 applied to an inside comer.

FIG. 5 is a side elevation showing the molding strip of FIG. 2 applied to an arcuate surface.

FIG. 6 is a side elevation showing a molding strip pursuant to the present invention having coated aluminum foil in serrated or corrugated form.

FIG. 7 is a side elevation similar to FIG. 3 showing the molding strip bent over two comers, said molding strip characterized by an angle origin having an arcuate shape.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of this invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which the molding strip is generally designated by reference numeral 10. It comprises a front portion 12 and a back portion [4. It is preferably formed of a resilient or yieldable thermoplastic especially cellulose acetate butyrate. It is suitably extruded about a metallic foil especially an aluminum foil 18. This provides a decorative finish to the molding strip. The back portion is provided with notches 20 which extend inwardly toward the front portion. The front portion, which has arcuate sides, meets the back portion at edges 22 and 24. Each notch is preferably formed by two straight angular cuts into the back portion whereby the angle formed is about Thus, the inwardly angular cuts are at an angle of 45 with the plane of the back portion. Preferably, the notches extend across the width of the molding piece and are parallel to one another. For application to a suitable surface, a suitable adhesive such an an epoxy glue is applied to the planar portions of the back.

When the molding piece is applied to an outside comer as shown in FIG. 3, a suitable adhesive is applied either to the molding strip planar back portion surface or the surface to be covered. The moldingpiece is then applied and bent around the corner. Due to provision of at least one notch extending across the width of the molding piece and toward the front portion or face, the molding strip gives or yields precisely at the angle of the corner. This is seen in FIG. 3 wherein notch edge 27 is caused to abut notch edge 28 enabling complete covering of an outside corner with a single molding strip and without creation of any line which might impair the decorative effect of the strip.

A similar but somewhat opposite effect is provided when the molding strip of FIG. 2 is applied over an inside comer as shown in FIG. 4. In this instance, the molding strip I0 is folded into the inside corner and notch edges 27 and 28 are disposed such that each meets a different surface than the other. Specifically, notch edge 27 meets surface 40 whereas notch edge 28 meets surface 45. The molding strip containing the metallic foil is caused to completely cover the inside corner and to exhibit a decorative effect without creating any unsightly edges or lines which might impair the decorative effect provided by the molding strip itself.

In FIG. 5, the molding strip of FIG. 2 is shown to traverse and cover an arcuate surface other than a 90 comer. In this embodiment, it is seen that the respective notches are all seen to be bent inwardly so that notch edges 27 approach notch edges 28 i.e., the angle is less than 90. The entire molding strip is thus made arcuate to provide a complete uninterrupted decorative molding which is free from lines or cuts in its surface.

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the molding strip of this invention. In this embodiment, the metallic foil is corrugated or serrated and is a generally undulating extent defined by a plurality of concavities and convexities extending in alternate succession to provide a unique decorative effect.

As those skilled in the art readily appreciate, each concavity is simply a depression defined by adjacent substantially perpendicular walls in the metallic foil 50 on one surface thereof,

whereas on the opposite surface thereof, these very same substantially perpendicular walls define a convexity. As illustrated most clearly in FIG. 6, each of the notches extends immediately below a respective concavity in the metallic foil 50 and is generally embraced by the latter concavities respectively. It can be applied to an outside comer, an inside comer or another arcuate surface in the same manner that the molding strip of FIG. 2 is applied.

Again, as those skilled in the art readily appreciate, because of the provision of the undulating extent of the metallic foil 50, and the location of each notch opposite a respective concavity, there is effected a composite molding which can be most effectively deformed with minimal resistance imparted to the external surface by internal composition of the composite strip.

FIG. 7 shows still another and more preferred embodiment of the present invention. The molding strip is characterized by having an arcuate shaped angle origin provided by removing more resilient plastic material in the form of circular grooves 60 extending across the width of the molding strip. The degree of revolution from the point at which one side of the angle meets the other side of the angle is about 270 in the embodiment shown although this angle can be varied depending upon the material of construction. By providing the arcuate shaped angle origin, the bending of the molding strip is facilitated. It should be noticed that the molding strip of P16. 7 tends to taper toward the edges 22 and 24 although this shape is not critical and is chosen as a desirable configuration for a molding strip to be applied about comers.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that the instant invention fulfills a long felt need in the field of decorative molding strips, i.e., a unitary, uncomplicated, easy to apply, molding strip, that can traverse arcuate surfaces especially 90 comers. It should be mentioned that the molding strip is preferably constructed of a yieldable thermoplastic material so that the notch edges can be readily deformed to the shape required when the molding strip is applied to the arcuate surface. Suitable thermoplastic materials include polyvinyl chloride, polymethyl methacrylate, polystyrene and polyacrylonitrile. Preferably, the thermoplastic is clear and coats or encapsulates a metallic foil, as seen in FIG. 2. Hence, cellulose acetate butyrate or other clear thermoplastic material is preferred.

The terms and expressions used herein are terms of description and not of limitation as there is no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalents, or portions thereof, as many modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.

What is claimed is:

l. A composite molding strip comprising a resilient plastic strip and a resilient metallic strip encapsulated in said resilient plastic strip, said resilient plastic strip having a pair of opposing surfaces one of which is provided with a plurality of spaced notches extending inwardly toward the other surface and terminating proximate said resilient metallic strip, said notches each being defined by a pair of surfaces substantially perpendicularly inclined relative to one another for permitting deforming said composite molding strip transversely of said notches and connection thereof along mutually perpendicular surfaces of an external body completely in the absence of interference of said pair of substantially perpendicularly inclined surfaces with one another, whereby there is obviated distortion and bulging of the notched surface along the external body against which the notched surface is connectable.

2. A composite molding strip as claimed in claim 1 wherein said resilient plastic strip is constituted of thermoplastic and is light'transmissive.

3. A composite molding strip as claimed in claim 2 wherein said metallic strip is constituted of aluminum foil.

4. A composite molding strip as claimed in claim 3 wherein said thermoplastic includes cellulose acetate butyrate.

5. A composite molding strip as claimed in claim 1 wherein said pair of substantially perpendicularly inclined surfaces have an apex origin of arcuate extent of a diameter substantially greater than the minimum spacmg between said inclined surfaces.

6. A composite molding strip as claimed in claim 5 wherein said arcuate extent is of substantially 270.

7. A composite molding strip as claimed in claim 1 wherein said metallic strip is of continuous undulating extent and is defined by a plurality of concavities and convexities extending in alternate succession.

8. A composite molding strip as claimed in claim 7 wherein each concavity includes a pair of substantially perpendicularly inclined portions extending generally parallel to the perpendicularly inclined surfaces respectively of said notches, each of said notches being associated with a respective concavity and generally embraced by the latter. 

2. A composite molding strip as claimed in claim 1 wherein said resilient plastic strip is constituted of thermoplastic and is light-transmissive.
 3. A composite molding strip as claimed in claim 2 wherein said metallic strip is constituted of aluminum foil.
 4. A composite molding strip as claimed in claim 3 wherein said thermoplastic includes cellulose acetate butyrate.
 5. A composite molding strip as claimed in claim 1 wherein said pair of substantially perpendicularly inclined surfaces have an apex origin of arcuate extent of a diameter substantially greater than the minimum spacing between said inclined surfaces.
 6. A composite molding strip as claimed in claim 5 wherein said arcuate extent is of substantially 270* .
 7. A composite molding strip as claimed in claim 1 wherein said metallic strip is of continuous undulating extent and is defined by a plurality of concavities and convexities extending in alternate succession.
 8. A composite molding strip as claimed in claim 7 wherein each concavity includes a pair of substantially perpendicularly inclined portions extending generally parallel to the perpendicularly inclined surfaces respectively of said notches, each of said notches being associated with a respective concavity and generally embraced by the latter. 